Rook Old
by Shadowguise
Summary: While attpemtping to catch the Amazing Mumbo, the titans have an unexpected runin with someone from Raven's past...
1. The Opening Move

[Introduction type bit  
  
Hello, I'm Shadowguise and this is my first ever attempt at a fanfic - please criticise at will ^^. I aimed chapter one to be sort of the prologue, like the beginning of all the episodes of TT. Also, I rated it as a PG because of one scene that will probably be echoed throughout. Other than that, enjoy!  
  
Ammendum: After posting this the first time, I realised that a) italics and bold don't work and b) the line spoken by Cyborg is really, really bad. That line bugs me. I apologise profoundly for these two slip ups, will rectify them now and make sure it doesn't happen again in the future.]  
  
"After him Titans!"  
  
The Teen Titans rushed down the alleyway, after Mumbo. It had been like this all day; whenever they had managed to corner him, he always seemed to manage to pull off some weird magic trick and escape, laughing manically. This time he wasn't as confident as the last time he had tried to evade the Titans either - he hadn't even let them see where he was hiding his wand, let along using it openly. The Titans were beginning to tire, when at last they came to another dead end, with Mumbo stood at the end of it. He was smiling in the moronic way he always did before he escaped again.  
  
"What's the matter?" sneered Mumbo mockingly, "Need an interval?" The Titans fanned out to encircle the rogue magician.  
  
"Nope" said Robin, "But where you're going, we'll have 20 years of interval. Titans, grab him!" The Teen titans leapt as one to grab Mumbo. The magician raised his hands.  
  
"Mumbo Jumbo!" he cried, waving his hand in Robin's direction. The leader of the titans fell heavily to the floor, wrapped in a straightjacket with several padlocks. Starfire immediately broke off her attack, much to the disapproval of Robin, to help her fallen comrade. Beastboy transformed into an octopus, his arms writhing around Mumbo. The magician wasn't fazed.  
  
"Hocus Pocus!" Beastboy vanished in a garish puff of white smoke, reappearing seconds later wrapped around a nearby lamp post. This however left Cyborg free to grab Mumbo and pin him against the wall.  
  
"Not so clever now Mumbo!" snarled Cyborg. Mumbo grinned.  
  
"For my next trick, I'll need some help from the audience." The wall shifted and changed, forming a wall around Cyborg. Mumbo rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and turned to face Raven. "And then there was one." he jibed mockingly. Raven was not impressed. She raised a hand.  
  
"Azerath Metreon Syn-"  
  
**Rage.Pain.Sorrow.**  
  
Raven swooned, and dropped to her knees as the psychic shock passed through her body. Mumbo laughed. "Honestly, you'd think they'd watch the whole show. You've been a wonderful audience!" The magician turned to leave the alley. He met a wall of shadow.  
  
"The show isn't over yet." A pair of glowing red eyes materialised in the darkness, drawing closer with every heartbeat. "It has only just begun."  
  
"Wh- who are you? What are you?" shouted the magician, stepping away. He reached into his cape and produced his wand, which he fired into the shadow. The eyes did not cease their advance, nor did the gloom - it was reaching into the alley with long, black fingers. "Hocus Pocus! Aberacadabera! Alakazam!" shouted Mumbo as he desperately tried to shoot away the approaching darkness. The shadow reached him, and inexplicably it grabbed him, swirling around his body and pinning him to the wall. The eyes were very close now, mere inches from Mumbo's face.  
  
"My name is Wraith, and it is the last one you'll ever know. You have committed a crime, and shall be punished accordingly."  
  
Mumbo saw the face of the figure for the first time, and yelled in terror as the shadow enveloped him. As it did, Raven got to her feet. "No!" she shouted. The shadow seemed to freeze, and the red eyes turned to her.  
  
"You."  
  
Wraith dropped the quivering heap that was now the Amazing Mumbo to the floor, and drifted quickly out of the alleyway, leaving the titans to deal with Mumbo. Beastboy finally unwrapped himself from the lamp post and ran over to where Raven was knelt, beside Mumbo.  
  
"Dude, did you know that thing?" he asked.  
  
Raven remained silent. 


	2. The Asylum

"Recent reports show that crime has dropped an astonishing sixty-five percent-" "Our headline tonight is that the mysterious vigilante, Wraith, has caused the biggest decrease in organised crime in 15 years."  
  
"Just turn the T.V off, will ya?"  
  
Robin put down the remote, and looked over his shoulder at Cyborg.  
  
"I just can't figure it out," he said. "One night everything in the city's normal, the next we have this Wraith character floating around. I mean, why has it come here?"  
  
"He. It's definitely a he." Came the voice of Beastboy. "I heard his voice, though it's not really something I want to hear again." He shot a glance at Raven, who (as usual) currently had her nose in a book. She looked up, and scowled. Beastboy recoiled a little, but then continued nonetheless.  
  
"And I think it knows Rae." he said, meekly. Robin looked to Raven, and waited for a retort. None came. "Well?" he asked eventually, "Do you know Wraith?"  
  
Raven didn't seem to take notice of this question but then slowly lowered the book, looking Robin straight in the eyes. "Maybe." She said ambiguously "Maybe not. Maybe he just decided not to do what he was about to. Maybe I just interrupted him."  
  
She got up, not wanting to be asked any more questions, and left the room. She left a very uneasy silence.  
  
"I think she knows something." Said Beastboy. "Maybe she is our friend, but she can't keep it from us, not when that thing did that to Mumbo!"  
  
"Maybe," said Robin, "but maybe we don't have to ask her again. Maybe we should just find someone else who has seen Wraith, face to face."  
  
"But who possibly-" began Cyborg. Realisation dawned on the three Titans.  
  
"Mumbo!" they said in unison.  
  
The Titans (minus Raven, whom hadn't been seen since she had left the others earlier) walked along the long, white corridor of the asylum, guided by one of the wardens. He was updating them on Mumbo's condition.  
  
"He was very traumatised," explained the warden, "If you hadn't stopped that Wraith creature from doing anything else to him, I don't think we could have stabilised him. As it is, he's stable, and just sitting down to dinner now."  
  
The guard came to a door, and opened the eye-slot first to make sure the inhabitant of the cell was not doing anything out of the ordinary. Then, he took a big bunch of keys from his belt and unlocked the door. The titans filed in, followed by the warden. Mumbo looked up, and put down his knife and fork.  
  
"Come to gloat?" he asked, bitterly. "After what that. thing did to me, I'll probably never be able to go into the dark ever again."  
  
"Well it serves you right for being a criminal." Scathed Starfire, waving a finger at the magician. Mumbo turned back to his meal.  
  
"What do you four want then?" he asked snidely.  
  
"We want to know what you saw when Wraith caught you" said Robin, drawing closer to Mumbo. "We want to know what happened. And you were in the right place to tell us what did happen."  
  
Mumbo thought for a few moments, cringing at the memory. "Well, I'm sorry, but the doctors say I have to refrain from traumatic ordeal recollection for the time being. Trust me, you don't want to know what I saw." Mumbo vaguely noticed the warden leaving the room, to let someone else in. "If you were on the receiving end of that, you wouldn't want to tell anyone either. So if I were you I'd just go back to your tower and try and forget about it. I thought you'd like this Wraith, since he's managed to put more criminals in the asylum in a week than what you did in your whole lives!"  
  
Cyborg rushed forward; Mumbo's words had obviously hit a nerve. The magician shrank back and grinned. "Now, now Cyborg" he jibed, "You wouldn't want to do that in here, would you? Hurt a helpless old man?" Cyborg calmed a little. "That's better, see how easy it is to-"  
  
The man's eyes seemed to widen, and his pupils shrank to pinpoints in his face, which was rapidly draining of colour. The warden locked the door again - Raven was stood in front of him.  
  
Mumbo started to scream again. He was quaking like a leaf. "K-K-Keep her away from me!" he cried, clawing at the other side of the room, trying to dig his way through the wall. The warden sighed, and showed the titans out. Raven hadn't even said a word, but now she was sure. sure of who Wraith was. 


	3. Wraith's Gambit

[A word of warning - the PG rating of this story may have to be bumped up, as it is about to get a whole lot nastier. Sorry about that, but it's just the way the story is going.]  
  
The Titans slowly walked back down the long white corridor. As they did so, they were passed by a lot of doctors running towards Mumbo's cell - presumably to sedate him. Though none of them wanted to speak first, they all wanted to ask the question - did Raven really have a connection with Wraith? It certainly seemed so; when she had entered that cell, Mumbo had almost died with fright. Literally.  
  
Beastboy was the first to break the uneasy silence. He turned to look at Raven.  
  
"So," he said innocently, "Do you know anything about Wraith?"  
  
The other Titans stayed deathly silent. Raven merely looked straight into Beastboy's eyes. Beastboy withered under the gaze, turned into a mouse and hid on Starfire. After a while, Raven could see his long whiskery nose poking over the top of Starfire's shoulder. She sighed.  
  
"I think I know a little," she conceded, "but I have to think a little more before I can be completely sure."  
  
Relieved, Beastboy resumed his normal state. He breathed out deeply in exaggerated relief. The others faced Raven directly.  
  
"So what do you know about Wraith so far then?" asked Robin. Raven's reply was hesitant.  
  
"I know that. that he is. like me." she said slowly. "Remember the time when I lost my temper with Dr. Light?"  
  
They did, and shuddered at the thought - it had not been nice to see what she did to him.  
  
"Well," she continued, "Wraith is like what I would have became if I hadn't been stopped."  
  
There was silence for a moment, then the Titans started to walk again. Over his shoulder, Robin said that they would wait - and try and see if he showed up again before they made a decision on what was to be done about him. Raven sunk deeper into thought. Was it possible that Wraith was.  
  
She shook her head, and walked quickly after the others  
  
*  
  
The Titans left the asylum and got into the T Car to go back to Titan Tower. From the shadows of the side of the asylum, however, they were being watched. Wraith slunk back into the shadows and contemplated his next move.  
  
All was going to plan. He would beat the Titans at their own game, but get steadily more extreme with his methods. Then, when they came to stop him, the rest would be self-explanatory. He heard the screams from Mumbo, even out here. Deep inside of his mind, he almost felt sorry for the magician who had been yet another pawn in his scheme. Almost. Wraith swept away - he felt it was time to initiate phase 2.  
  
*  
  
The Titans had almost gotten home when Robin's pager sounded.  
  
"Oh man." groaned Beastboy.  
  
"Trouble at the bank." read Robin. "Cyborg, step on it!"  
  
Cyborg, glad for a chance to test his improved nitro tanks, gleefully span the car in a 180 degree turn, before speeding off towards the crime scene. Raven sighed - he was always like this with the car - she really couldn't see the point. She looked over at starfire, who was currently having much fun playing with a cup-holder build into the door of the car.  
  
"Most amusing." mused the Tamaranian happily. She noticed Raven. "What troubles you?" she asked.  
  
"Me? Nothing. nothing at all." Said raven, knowing it was a lie. If Wraith was who she thought it was, they had every right to be fearful. she didn't want to have to deal with him, not after all this time.  
  
The Titans arrived at the bank, just in time to see a masked thug making a break for it with a large sac full of money in one hand. He held a gun in the other. He was at the bottom of the steps before he noticed the titans, who had gotten out of the car and were ready to catch him - he was only a petty criminal, no major bother. Not like the likes of some of the super villains they had fought in the past.  
  
The criminal panicked, changed his direction, and ran straight into an alleyway. The titans started to give chase, Starfire taking to the skies to track his position. The alleyway seemed to grow darker. Raven felt the psychic presence coming from within.  
  
"No." she said, softly. She sank to her knees with the effort of staying conscious.  
  
Pain.Anger.Rage.  
  
The criminal ran headlong into Wraith, who hoisted him against the wall. Starfire saw this, then her vision was also impaired as the alley filled with dense black shadow. She landed down next to Robin.  
  
For long moments the Titans waited outside the alleyway, not knowing what to do. By the looks of the shadow, it was impenetrable. Cyborg fired a few shots from his ion cannon at the darkness, but it simply diffused over its surface. Suddenly, there was a loud scream which descended into a whimpering gurgle. Then there was nothing but silence. The shadow seemed to become less dense before the Titans' eyes, and as Raven started to recover, they knew that Wraith had vanished once more. They went over to check the thug.  
  
Starfire gasped as they turned his body over. There were no eyes left in its sockets, and a look of pure terror was etched onto his features. The man had been frightened to death. The money bag and gun were scattered over the floor - the gun had been fired desperately in an attempt to ward off the ghostly vigilante. Robin closed the eyelids of the man carefully, while the others merely turned away, in awe and fear of what they had just seen. People were already starting to gather at the scene.  
  
"Titans, we're dealing with a murderer now." said Robin quietly. The hate radiated from him; he would make Wraith pay for what he had done. Raven looked at the floor. She had to check something in her room, and soon - it was the key to Wraith's identity, she knew that. 


	4. The Visit

[Ok, so I realise now that Raven fanfics have been done to death. But heck, I'm going to keep writing this cow of a fanfic until it's done, and then probably do a sequel if I can scrape together a few more ideas. For the two people who were kind enough to take the time to read this and then review, thank you.  
  
Oh, and relating to Rooks costume - The boots are like the ones that the prison guards wear (you can get a good glimpse of them in the episode "Divide and Conquer" - its kind of hard to get across :S]  
  
"You know that you cannot prevent the inevitable Raven."  
  
The voice rushed in on the meditating titan, pressing itself into her consciousness. Inside her head, Raven watched as the shadowy figure approached her over the barren ground. Raven knew who it was. It was Wraith. But more than that. it was Rook.  
  
"Why are you doing this Rook?" she asked. The figure stopped. The shadows seemed to draw back from its form, revealing the true figure underneath the shadow. He was tall, probably just shorter than Cyborg, and was dressed similarly to Raven. His bodysuit included his legs though, and instead of the thin shoes that Raven wore, he wore a pair of thick boots. The figure's eyes remained completely scarlet however.  
  
"You know full well why I am doing this Raven." Intoned Rook, drawing ever closer. "I am doing it because it is inevitable."  
  
"It is only inevitable because he tells you it is!" shouted Raven  
  
"Is it? Well, no matter - it must happen now anyway. You are the last, Raven. The only one of us who remains free."  
  
The red light in Rook's eyes seemed to flicker for a moment. He cupped his hands, and a small orb appeared in them. Inside the dome, images started to form.  
  
The first was of a heavy set male, dressed almost identically to Rook, but far taller and broader. The look in Raven's eyes was all Rook needed to begin. The figure was fighting something, and losing. Eventually it was possible to see what he was fighting - Trigon. It looked as though the boy was getting tired.  
  
"Griffon was the first," said Rook slowly. "His pride got the better of him, and once he learnt what Trigon intended, he confronted him. He lost, and now is like me." The images swirled again, showing a young female dressed as Raven was. She faced the daemon confidently, before splitting into many versions of herself. All of them battled valiantly, but one stopped fighting and turned on the others.  
  
"Jay's bravery was turned against her, and she also lost to him."  
  
The images kept swirling, showing another three youths fighting and falling against Trigon. Rook stared into the orb impassively.  
  
"Owl, Falcon and Dove all fell to him, soon after Jay and Griffon. All there was left afterwards was you. and me." The orb flickered to show Rook fighting Trigon. The battle seemed to be creeping in Rook's favour.  
  
"We fought each other for what seemed to be days, even weeks. Neither of us could get the upper hand on the other. But Trigon could not tire, and I did. Cracks started to appear in even my mental defences. It was then that he struck." The red light was flickering in Rooks eyes wildly now. The orb showed rook being struck with such force that he was thrown high into the air. He landed heavily with a loud crack. The psychic tried to stand, but slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
"And now, you are the only one of us who isn't under Trigon's command. That is why I am here. I am here to bring you back into the fold." The figure advanced. He was very close to Raven now. She backed away slowly.  
  
"I'll never do his bidding!" she cried at Rook, "What he is doing is wrong Rook. Don't you see that?"  
  
The figure nodded. "It is wrong, Raven. But I am in no position to dispute it. It was my sense of reason that was turned against me. My strongest emotion. That was Trigon's plan. He placed within our strongest emotions the means to control us. And we all know what your strongest emotion is, don't we Raven."  
  
It was not a question, it was a fact.  
  
"I'll never show that emotion again, you know it!" lied Raven. She could feel it welling within her even now. It was fighting against every shred of control she possessed. Her anger. Anger at what Trigon had done, anger at Rook. anger at ever being even brought into existence.  
  
Her eyes started to flicker with red light.  
  
"That's right Raven," soothed Rook, "Let it all go. you need not be concerned with the matters of others any more. You belong with us."  
  
Raven regained control. "No" she said quietly. "I don't. I belong with my friends."  
  
She launched herself at Rook, who dodged out of the way. He looked at her for a moment, and then burst out into laughter. It echoed through the nightmare world they stood in. "Friends!" he mused. "They are not your friends Raven. Do you not see? They always ignore you, even though your advice is often the soundest. They see your powers as a help and nothing more." Rook's face seemed to darken.  
  
"But that is what it is now, isn't it Raven? You used to be strong. Your powers used to be able to accomplish anything you set your mind on. And then you joined the Teen Titans. Their so-called friendship has made you weak Raven. They see you as a useful support option for when their plans go wrong. Robin is too headstrong to accept your advice, and Beastboy is too stupid to understand. Cyborg carry on his own plans regardless, and Starfire is too busy looking out for Robin to notice you at all. You call these friends? People who take everything they want from you without giving anything back in return?"  
  
Raven struggled with her emotions. She knew he was lying, but even so there was the small voice in the back of her head telling her he spoke the truth.  
  
"You're lying!" she shouted to the figure. "They have made me stronger!"  
  
"Really?" breathed Rook. "How so? By forcing you to rely on them instead of on your own strength? I have seen their powers Raven - they are pushovers. I could defeat them all without breaking a sweat. I daresay you could too, though you don't like to show it. How can they make you stronger?"  
  
"Because they give me purpose."  
  
Rook smiled cruelly. "Well," he concluded, "Since I cannot awaken your anger here, I shall do it otherwise." He turned. "Maybe once I destroy your friends you will let go of your petty feelings for them." The figure walked away, fading into nothing as he did so. All that was left was his cruel laughter, echoing in the cold sky around Raven's form.  
  
Raven was awoken from her trance by a hefty shake from Cyborg.  
  
"Raven, there's trouble" explained Robin. "We've got another sighting of Wraith, and this time I think we can catch him. Come on!" 


	5. A Piece is Taken

"Ok Raven," started Robin as the titans got into the T-Car, "If were gonna beat this guy, we need to know everything you know about him."  
  
They travelled in silence for a few minutes, before raven decided to speak. He words were slow and sounded practised.  
  
"His name is not Wraith, it's Rook." She said. "He is... a person with powers like me. I used to know him back home, in Azerath. After we all left, we lost contact with each other. Obviously Trigon managed to consume his emotions, and now he has come here to enable my father to take over my body as well."  
  
She carefully unfolded a small piece of paper that had a worn look about it. It was a picture. On it was a scene very familiar to 'normal' photographs – There were a group of people stood in the centre of a landscape. This landscape however was barren and twisted. Silver stars highlighted the black sky. Beastboy and Cyborg knew this scene; it was identical to the place they had seen in Raven's mind. There were 8 people in the photo – 7 quite young people, and one older one. All were dressed very similarly, the only difference being the colours of the cloaks. All were smiling broadly, save one.  
  
"Whoa Rae!" exclaimed Beastboy jokingly, "I didn't know you could smile like that!" He was met with an almost mournful gaze.  
  
"In Azerath we could afford to show emotion, since our powers can be more easily controlled there." She replied. "It is only when we entered other dimensions that we were forced to control our emotions. But Rook, he never showed any emotion anyway. We always wondered why..."  
  
"We're here" said Cyborg, braking the T-Car.  
  
"He will try and make me lose control of my emotions." said Raven as they got out of the car. "He will probably do anything to meet his ends, even if it means... killing you." She bowed her head. Robin was the one who put his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"You'd do the same for us" he said softly. "We will always be there for you."  
  
The shadows were already getting longer. Raven held her head with sudden pain. "He's here..." she managed before collapsing into Robin's arms. The form of Wraith materialised out of the darkness, eyes blazing fiery red.  
  
"So, you have all come, as I knew you would." Spoke Wraith, solemnly. "What a noble thing it is that you are willing to risk your lives for your... friend..." he seemed to pause on the word, and his eyes seemed to flicker. "However," he continued, "It is rather pitiful that you think you have a chance of defeating me, especially you are already one person down. She will be ours again, you cannot stop this."  
  
"We'll try." Said Robin. With blinding speed, he pulled a grenade from his belt and threw it at Wraith. It exploded a few feet into the air, sending a pulse of bright light to illuminate the entire area. Night was momentarily made into day and Rook, now shorn of the shadow he held so much sway over, fell to the ground, dazed. The titans took their chance, and charged towards the psychic. Rook looked up, and the red glow reasserted itself. Just before the four titans found their mark, Rook dodged to the side, floating up into the air. His cloak billowed eerily around him.  
  
"Nice try" he said, breathlessly, "but I still have more than enough power to defeat you all." He raised his hands in front of him, and uttered the words raven always used. "Azerath, Metreon, Synthos!"  
  
Around the titans, the streetlights were bending out of shape, and one by one they were ripped from the ground in a shower of sparks and light motes. Rook pointed to the titans, and the twisted metal lamps sped towards them.  
  
As Raven began to regain her consciousness, she cast her mind back to remember what Rook's main power had been. He was always the elusive one, and she had spoken to him least out of all the others on the photograph. She saw the titans scramble out of the way of the lamps, and saw Rook rising higher into the air to confront Starfire. She charged her hands with glowing green energy and started firing bolt after bolt at Rook. Only then did Raven understand. She struggled to her feet.  
  
"Starfire, no!" she shouted, barely managing to stand, "His power is that he can turn your own powers against you! Don't use your starbolts on him!" She once again slumped to her knees. Starfire turned to listen to her words, then looked back at Rook. The psychic hadn't moved. Neither had her starbolts – they formed a ghostly green halo around Rook, but hadn't touched him.  
  
"Wise words often come too late." He whispered. To Starfire's horror, the bolts were turning black.  
  
"Azerath Metreon Synthos!"  
  
Starfire was pounded to the ground by her own starbolts which then formed a dark liquid around her body, pinning her to the floor. She struggled against it for a few moments before realising that the more she struggled the tighter the bonds grew. Rook directed his attention to Raven.  
  
"I thought you would have been better prepared." He said mockingly. "Or is it true that you did not tell them everything?" Raven looked at the floor. "I thought so. Why are you so afraid of telling them the truth, if they are your friends?"  
  
She didn't answer. Rook could see that she was starting to shake with silent anger.  
  
"You do not trust them, do you?" he pushed his line of conversation further. "You do not think that they will see you as the same person if they found out that you have some very dark secrets. Secrets that only you and me know..."  
  
"Shut up..." whispered Raven.  
  
"Oh, you still have some will left, Raven?" jibed Rook. "You will not have for long. Still, you have not broken yet, and for that I commend you. But you have doomed your so-called friends. Have you ever seen the spirit of a person completely broken before?" He relished her attempts to control her anger at what he was doing. As Raven made an attempt to stand, Rook grunted slightly, forcing her back down under a wave of psychic force. "You have become weak Raven, weak from relying on other people to fight your battles. I assure you, this battle has not yet begun, and you will have to fight it by yourself. I will make sure of that..." 


	6. Endgame

[Sorry about the wait, I was trying to find a feasible way of doing the next bit. Thanks for your patience.]  
  
"I assure you, this battle has not yet begun, and you will have to fight it by yourself. I will make sure of that..."  
  
Rook lowered himself slowly to the ground. He looked around at the remaining able Titans. Both Raven and Starfire could not pose a threat at the moment, Rook assured himself. That left three. Two did not have biological powers in a conventional sense at least, and one was a shape- shifter. This may get a little... different. Rook didn't not rate this as anything he could not easily deal with... he had expected Rook's "friends" to be more prepared. Evidently, there was much they still had to learn. If they survived this night.  
  
"Who wishes to be the next one to face my power?" intoned the psychic. He knew who would be next anyway, but the formality of the situation called for the sentence to be said. Cyborg charged, his ion cannon powering up. "Take this!" he bellowed, swinging his other fist in a wide arc, aiming to incapacitate Rook as he charged. Rook easily dodged out of the way, but at the same time Cyborg fired the ion cannon, at the precise place where Rook would land from the dodge.  
  
"Booyah! Dodge tha-" began Cyborg. There was something wrong with the ion beam. He noticed his right arm crackling with dark energy. Rook had regained his footing.  
  
"I do not need to, but maybe Beastboy would like to try..." whispered Rook. "Azerath, Metreon, Synthos!"  
  
Cyborg's arm pulled itself around, and started shooting energy blast after energy blast at the changeling, who changed into a crow and flew out of the way of the blasts. Amidst Cyborg's cries of disbelief and the frantic noises made by Beastboy, Robin had crept up behind Rook. Jumping into the air, the titan aimed a flying kick at Rook's back. He was too close, there was no way Rook could dodge this attack.  
  
Robin connected with Rook's back with a loud thud. Rook looked surprised for a moment, and then seemed to unravel like smoke. The vapours smouldered away quickly.  
  
Robin looked around for a few moments, then stood up. Cyborg and Beastboy walked over to him. "Was that it?" asked Beastboy warily. "Is he gone?"  
  
"I... think so..." said Robin in a confused voice. It had all bee a bit too easy. "Let's free Starfire" he said. The three walked over to the fallen titan. Raven was regaining her footing. It was... not right... she still felt him nearby...  
  
Then she realised.  
  
"It's a trap!" she shouted.  
  
"Too late once again, Raven." Echoed the voice of Rook. The ground underneath the three boys opened up, the titans sinking into the floor up to their necks. Nearby, the ground liquefied, and the form of Rook rose up through the portal. He gestured with his hands, and one by one the three boys sank fully into the ground, appearing moments later on separate walls of the street trapped in the same black substance as Starfire was. Rook advanced on Raven.  
  
"And that is that. How disappointing that your so called friends were that easy to defeat. That is what comes of teamwork – they could not function on their own." Raven slowly dragged herself to her feet, almost fainting under the psychic pressure that Rook was emanating.  
  
"I... will... never... help my... father..." she managed.  
  
"Oh, you will Raven." Answered Rook. He stopped using his psychic influence to force Raven down – he would need to fight her without that trick to achieve his aims.  
  
"You will either join him willingly, or I shall make you join him. Either way, I win. There is no way for you to prevail over me Raven, no way at all."  
  
"We'll see about that." Muttered Raven. "Azerath Metreon Synthos!"  
  
The street lamps, still lying strewn at the other side of the street, lifted themselves from the floor and sped towards Rook. With a gesture, he easily deflected the bars of metal, and liquefied them. "Predictable AND weak." He said. "You really could've had all the power in the world. You wasted it by joining these... misfits. Idiots. They cannot even make me break a sweat! You call these friends?"  
  
"There is more to friendship than just power Rook..."  
  
"Is there now. What else could there possibly be? After all, all your friends seem to do is make you weak. Well, I think it is time to remove that particular distraction from your life Raven. I will show you what it is like to see a soul torn from its sanity by fear and pain. I will show you by using your friends..."  
  
Rook clenched his hands and uttered words Raven had never heard before. He started to crackle with dark energy. As if on cue, the 4 trapped titans began to lurch and judder, wracked by invisible pain.  
  
"Please, Rook, stop!" shouted Raven.  
  
"Soon they will not even remember their names..." said Rook, distantly. "They will be stripped of all their sanity, all their knowledge, everything. And then, I shall leave them to wander around this city as gibbering wrecks..."  
  
"Don't make me hurt you Rook, I don't want to have to hurt you..." Raven's eyes were beginning to flicker with red power. Rook released his hold on the Titans. Their heads sagged down.  
  
"They are not insane... yet. I wish them to know what happens next." Said Rook.  
  
Raven was starting to lose control... out of anger or despair, her mental barriers were cracking. It would only take a little more, and then she would be ripe for the taking.  
  
"Now, let us commence the required "final battle", shall we?" intoned Rook. "You know the one... good versus evil, light versus shadow..."  
  
"What are you doing this for?" asked Raven, through gritted teeth. Even now she could imagine the efforts of her other emotions to keep Anger at bay.  
  
"Because it is called for. You will come back to us. After all, is not family far more important than friends? Is that not the case, my sister?"  
  
Raven snapped. Eyes blazing with red energy, she lunged at Rook. 


	7. Stalemate

Rook was caught off guard by the psychic shock of Raven's attack, and was sent corkscrewing through the air. He slammed heavily against the wall, and slid to the floor, dazed. Raven, however, did not stop as she normally would – she had let go of her anger, who was no in the driving seat. She sped towards her brother, hands crackling with power, and smashed into Rook, pinning him down. She punched furiously, not relenting. As the rest of the titans were coming to, they were horrified at what they saw – Raven had never been like this before, not even with Dr Light.  
  
Rook was bleeding heavily from his nose and several cuts on he face. Raven smiled wickedly. "But I thought this is what you wanted, Rook" she gloated, "You said you wanted to get me mad. Well, here I am, and I'm going to make you sorry you ever came here."  
  
Rook pushed himself to his feet unsteadily. He looked up sharply at Raven, his eyes suddenly flaring with intense red light.  
  
"Yes Raven, this is what I wanted." He replied, "And now you are as good as mine."  
  
Raven snarled with fury and lunged again towards Rook. Her brother, however, was expecting this and he back flipped easily out of the way, dropping into a portal that opened underneath him. Seconds later he exploded from a nearby wall, impacting Raven with phenomenal speed. She was thrown sideways by the attack, but managed to slide through her own portal. She rose up from the ground, smiling wickedly.  
  
"You never could get the better of me when I released my full power, brother..." she laughed cruelly.  
  
"That was then Raven, and this is now" he retorted. "And you still haven't counted on one thing – I'm still more powerful." He dodged the incoming block of masonry hurled by Raven, and flew up to where Starfire was pinned to the wall. Once there, he extended his finger and touched he forehead. She struggled, but it was of no use. Nothing seemed to happen. Rook looked at her quizzically.  
  
"Is that it? That's all there is to it?" he was bemused for a moment. "I would have thought it was harder than that..." He descended back to the floor.  
  
"And now I have another power which I can use against you." He said, slowly. His hands charged with green energy – starbolts. "Take this!" he shouted at his sister, launching bolt after bolt in her direction. Raven shrugged, and raised her mental shield impassively.  
  
"Pathetic." She jeered to the now breathless Rook. "You know though, I think I agree with you. They ARE weak compared to me." She stopped, and for a moment her eyes flickered their normal colour. Robin now knew what that meant.  
  
"She's fighting it... fighting him." He muttered to himself. "Fight it Raven! You can beat him!" he shouted down. He was met with a snarl.  
  
"Shut up!" growled Raven, the red light reasserting itself. "I don't need you, I don't need any of you! Especially not him." She pointed at Rook. "By the time I'm finished, all that will be left of you will be a messy stain on the floor." She launched herself at Rook again, firing bolts of dark energy from her hands. The Titans could almost see her changing – her cloak had already darkened in colour; it was now almost the same colour as Rook's. Rook glared impassively. He was not moving. The shadows were lengthening around his form.  
  
"Raven, no! It's a trap!" shouted Robin. He was too late.  
  
Rook exploded into hundreds of dark motes of shadow, which enveloped Raven so quickly she could not react. Muffled sounds came from within the ball of shadow where Raven and her brother had been, sounds of a struggle.  
  
Long moments passed. All the titans could do was hope that Raven would be ok. The ball eventually started to disintegrate. Raven was still there, as was Rook. But a furious Raven was now struggling to free herself from the same black substance the other titans were secured in. Rook was a few feet away. Having completely regained his composure, he drew his cloak back up around him.  
  
"Like I said, sister, I am stronger than you, angry or not."  
  
Raven howled in anger as she tried in vain to break the dark bonds that held her. Her eyes glowed bright red, but started to dull in colour. She was taking back control.  
  
"I will not... let you... win..." she stuttered through gritted teeth. "I know you're in there Rook... you have to fight it..." Rook's expression didn't change, though his eyes were flickering. Something was happening in his head at least.  
  
"It is too late for me," he said, eventually, "and soon it will be too late for you.". His body began to glow with power, arcs of black lightning crackling across his body. The temperature around him dropped by several degrees, causing his breath to mist the air around him. The wind picked up, blowing his cloak around him.  
  
"This is a little spell that I myself developed." He said, raising his arms. "It will make you and your anger switch places, and put it in permanent control of your body. This will not hurt, it will just feel strange..." He stepped forward, Raven struggled ever more to break free, but to no avail.  
  
"Tetrias, Inculum, Califax" chanted Rook slowly. It was easy to see the struggle to maintain the power was – his eyes were flickering madly. "Tetrias, Inculum, Califax" he said, more loudly. Raven struggled against it, but she could feel herself being sucked away from her body, she could feel her anger welling up to take her body as its own. Rook was almost touching Raven now.  
  
"TETRIAS, INCULUM, CALIF-"  
  
The street was silent for a moment, and then Rook dropped to his knees. The bonds holding the titans vaporised into nothing, dropping them to the ground. Rook was motionless, apart from his heavy breathing. Raven turned him onto his back. His eyes were normal...  
  
"Rook!" she shouted, "You are ok!"  
  
Rook grimaced. "No..." he said, after a while. Raven looked puzzled.  
  
"My body... ran out of power... from our fight... I managed to take back my body, but it won't be for long... I can feel our father taking me again even now..."  
  
Raven looked down, as if thinking. Then she looked up, her expression hard to fathom.  
  
"Can we do anything?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing..." replied Rook, "Unless you can get into my mind..."  
  
The psychic was suddenly gripped with what looked like a massive spasm. He rolled over, clutching at his head.  
  
"Go!" he shouted. "There is still... time..."  
  
He slipped to the floor, only to rise again seconds later. The red light reasserted itself.  
  
"Time's up." Said Rook. 


	8. Into the Mist

[Wow... I never thought id get so many reviews! Thank you ^^ Also, due to popular (1) demand, Rook now comes with added chapter length...]  
  
Rook advanced on the Titans, once again cold and uncompromising. He raised his right hand, which started to glow.  
  
"I may have run out of power before" he said coolly, "but that will not happen again. This time, you will be mine Raven."  
  
Rook suddenly gripped his head in pain again.  
  
"Stop struggling!" he bellowed to himself. "There is no use in resisting!"  
  
Raven heard Rook's real voice inside her head.  
  
'Run away from here', it said, 'Go into my mind through yours. I will wait for you there. I desperately need your help.... I can by you time before then...'  
  
Raven turned quickly to the others.  
  
"We have to go back to the tower, now." She said. "No arguing" she interrupted as Robin started to speak. "I'll explain everything on the way." She half-pulled, half led the Titans back to the T-Car, where they got in and started driving full speed back to the tower. After a few moments silence, she began. She spoke quickly, in case she didn't have time to say it all.  
  
"His name is Rook, and he is my brother." She began, hurriedly. "I have six siblings in total, making seven of us – that's Griffon, Jay, Owl, Falcon, Dove and Rook." She blushed. "My mother never did have any flair for names..."  
  
"Go on", said Beastboy.  
  
"Anyway, we each represent a different chakra, an energy vortex in the body. I have the powers of the Ajana, or Third Eye chakra. Rook is the representation of the crown chakra. He is the oldest by about 30 seconds..." she looked down.  
  
"We all have conflicting emotions inside of us, and it is that which our father Trigon manipulates to corrupt us and make us serve his causes. From what I have heard, all of my brothers and sisters have been corrupted, and I am the only one who remains free."  
  
"Let me guess," said Robin, "Rook is here to corrupt you?"  
  
"Yes." Sighed Raven, "But he's fighting Trigon's control, you saw it. He said that if I can get into his mind, there is a chance I can help him to fight Trigon out of it. So that is where we are going – I need my mirror..."  
  
It was a few minutes later (it may have been a tense situation, but Cyborg always loved any reason to put his foot down on the accelerator). The Titans were stood outside Raven's room. They waited for a few minutes, then Beastboy knocked on the door.  
  
"Raven?" he called, "You ok in there?"  
  
There was no answer. The door creaked open slightly, revealing what Raven was up to. She was sat cross-legged on her bed, with her eyes closed. The mirror was in her hands. Beastboy stamped on the floor.  
  
"She went in without us!" he fumed. "Doesn't she trust us?"  
  
"Evidently not," said a bewildered Starfire. Even after they had switched bodies for a short time, she still didn't completely understand Raven. "Maybe she wants to be alone."  
  
Robin intervened. "Well, I think Rook's too dangerous for her to handle alone. We need to find a way into her mind somehow..."  
  
Beast boy grinned. "Oh, that's easy." He said. "Just look into her magic mirror..."  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"How did you know that?" asked Robin.  
  
"Um... me and Cyborg were in there before. Remember that time with Dr Light? Well, it was then."  
  
"Oh." Was the best reply Robin could give. As one hero, the Titans walked over to the prone form of Raven, and looked at the mirror.  
  
They saw 4 red eyes staring back, and felt a sensation of travelling very far, very fast.  
  
The dark world of Raven's mind unfolded before the Titans. Small chunks of rock floated through the upper atmosphere of the place, and an eerie silence descended on the group as they took in the scene. A hoard of dark ravens clustered around, each craning to see the newcomers.  
  
'Turn back...' came the cold whisper on the wind. Starfire shivered.  
  
"I do not like this place" she wailed. "It is scary and dark and mean!"  
  
"So this is what goes on in Raven's mind..." thought Robin aloud. He snapped back to reality, if that is what this place could be called. "Ok Titans, let's find Raven!"  
  
After what seemed countless hours of searching the barren ground for clues as to where their friend could have gone, the Titans finally found something that could provide an answer. A dense cloud of what seemed to be fog was enveloping the side of one of the dark mountains to the East. All getting the same idea at the same time, the Titans ran towards it. The ravens fluttered around them angrily, all shouting "Turn Back" in their raspy voices. Even though this perturbed and shocked the titans (especially Starfire), they kept going. The cloud of fog was getting really close now.  
  
As they rounded the crest of the hill, they saw Raven stood with her emotions. They were all chanting at an area of the hill, which seemed to be no different from any other part, except that fog was billowing from it. As the titans drew closer, one of the Ravens turned and saw them. She laughed happily and ran up the hill to meet them, her arms wide.  
  
"My friends! How great it is to see you here again so soon!" cried Happiness, hugging all of them in turn. The other emotions turned to face them, and raven walked forward. The ravens circling the other Titans flew away from her as she approached.  
  
"What do you think you're doing here?" she said, in a slightly annoyed tone. "This is none of your business any more; I need to save my brother alone."  
  
"Oh no you don't" scolded Beastboy. "Remember what happened when you tried to defeat your anger when we were in here last time? You needed our help then. And no matter how strong you think you are, you're not too strong not to need friends!"  
  
Raven looked down, ashamedly. "A-about what I said earlier..." she began.  
  
"Don't worry about it." Said Robin. "You lost your temper, that's all. We know you didn't mean it." Beastboy looked down at the ground with an annoyed expression – Raven's earlier words had really gotten to him.  
  
Only the distant fluttering of wings and the gentle sounds of rocks floating through the starry sky permeated the long silence that followed. Another Raven walked up the hill to stand next to Raven. She was cloaked in yellow, and wore thick glasses. Before speaking to Raven, she bowed slightly to the Titans.  
  
"Reason." She said, helpfully. Then she turned to Raven.  
  
"If we do not go through soon, I'm afraid we will not have enough time to stop Trigon." Said Reason. "Courage and Anger are getting impatient, and Timid is about to run away. We need to act soon, if not now."  
  
Raven sighed. "Very well," she said. "You can come too if you wish, but I am warning you, Rook's mind will be a far more dangerous place than mine." She still felt bad about what she said about the others being weak, but she knew in her heart it was true. It was only a matter of time before they asked her about that again. Until then, she didn't want to think about it.  
  
She turned and ran down the hill. Happy followed, pretending to be an aeroplane. Reason followed a lot more sensibly, floating quietly a couple of inches above the ground. The Titans considered the difference between the two emotions for a moment, before shrugging. They followed the Ravens, who now had all gone through the gate, with the exception of Raven herself and Anger, who stood in chains beside her. She growled at the Titans as they passed her, and went through the portal. Raven looked at her temper with scorn. "I don't trust you to be on your own in here and not do anything." She said. "So you're coming with me."  
  
Anger just scowled, and snarled as she was dragged through the portal.  
  
The mind of Rook was a very different place to that of Raven.  
  
For one thing, it was very unstable. The ground shook violently occasionally, and there was an ever-present deep throbbing sensation coming from far away. The fog covered everything – it was impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. The Ravens pulled their hoods up around their heads.  
  
"Be careful" she warned the titans. "I have only ever been inside Rook's mind once before, and it isn't a very friendly place even at the best of times...  
  
She remembered it well. It had been just after they had been taught to meditate. They had all sat quietly in meditation, but something went wrong, and Rook's powers started raging wildly around him. It was then that her mother had taken them all into Rook's mind to show them what the problem was.  
  
It had been their first meeting with their father. Raven had learnt enough from the experience to know that Rook's head was not a place she wanted to be in if she could help it. The ordeal had had a lasting effect on Rook too. He never showed any emotion after that... almost as if he was scared to invite Trigon back in...  
  
"Raven?" inquired Starfire, snapping the psychic back to reality.  
  
"Hmm?" she replied, distantly.  
  
"Where is Rook? It is impossible to see anything through this mist. It is worse than the fog that surrounds the Swamp moons of Naktar 5!"  
  
Raven gave a short laugh. "Rook never liked to give straight answers, so his mind has grown used to secrecy." She said. "You never find anything out here until it is too late."  
  
"Well said... You may wish to turn around very slowly. I would not make any sudden moves if I were you."  
  
The Titans and Emotions turned to see a figure drawing out of the mist. He wore a metallic grey cloak, and rather oddly he was also wearing a suit of what looked to be plate armour, minus the helmet. He surveyed the group with steel coloured eyes, before bowing grandly.  
  
"Raven, you have come at last!" exclaimed the figure, his voice echoing in the mist. "Although you have brought outsiders unto our realm, I am very much relieved to see you here. I am Valour, and I was sent to look for you all. The battle with Trigon goes ill..."  
  
"Is he for real?" grinned Beastboy. Raven nudged him stiffly in the chest, and stepped forward to address the emotion.  
  
"We are glad to have found you," she said, "We couldn't find our way anywhere in this fog. Where is Rook?"  
  
"He is close, quite close indeed. If you would all care to follow me, I shall take you to him directly." Valour bowed again, then turned stiffly, walking away into the mist. The Titans followed, mutely, not knowing where the strange emotion would take them... 


	9. Partings

[Sorry about the wait all, school work got the better of me for a minute there. And so, without further ado, Rook – Part 9]  
  
The mists parted as the group slowly walked on through the nightmare world of Rook's mind. Every so often, strange, dark shapes loomed out of the dense fog – ancient weathered monoliths and dark, twisted trees broke through the fog and drifted silently by the Titans, eventually disappearing back into the mist as they passed them. Starfire shivered. The mist indeed was getting quite cold, and ever colder as the group walked on, for what seemed like hours. All the time the shape of Valour was visible, his pace never slowing. He didn't even seem to feel the cold. But then, how could he? He was not a person as such, just an emotion.  
  
This thought was troubling Raven, who was walking just a few feet away from Valour. She had never encountered this emotion in her own mind, and she knew that she and her siblings had very similar emotional responses to events. Valour should not be a full emotion, just a facet of Bravery...  
  
Valour noticed Raven's gaze and grimaced. He had hoped she would not suspect anything... He half turned his head to look back at her through the corner of his eyes. "What is the matter Raven? Why do you brood so?" His voice was quiet, and the drawing of a sword could almost be heard upon the edge in it. Raven suddenly quickened her pace to catch up with Valour.  
  
"Why are you here?" she hissed, "Why is it Valour and not Bravery? I KNOW Rook has Bravery, I've seen it before when I have been here."  
  
Valour looked directly into Raven's eyes. There was something about the way the fog whispered around his face that made it seem unsettling. "He doesn't have Bravery any more." He said, darkly. Raven moved closer to the emotion. "Why? Why doesn't he have Bravery?" she asked. "Because like most things to do with my family, I don't trust you. This doesn't make any kind of sense and you aren't giving me answers."  
  
"You will have to wait for answers, Raven." said the emotion. He quickened his pace. The others were running now to be able to keep up. "Slow down!" called Beastboy, but the sound was lost in the dank fog, which now seemed to thicken. Valour moved further and further away from the group, with Raven running to keep up. Eventually, the other Titans and emotions lost sight of them in the mist. Despite the group running to keep up, eventually the sound of the footsteps sank away into the haze that surrounded them. The Titans were lost in a sea of mist...  
  
"Oh this is terrible! Horribly, nastily terrible!" wailed Starfire. Robin couldn't blame her; the dense fog seemed to grow ever denser around the small isolated group. Without Valour or Raven, they had no idea of knowing where they were. Or did they...  
  
Robin regarded the emotions. Huddling next to Starfire was Timid. She wouldn't be much help, she was too scared. Anger was being restrained by Bravery, and Laziness had just sat down next to a nearby rock, and was now snoozing. Of all the emotions accompanying them, only one could possibly of any help: Reason.  
  
"Reason," said Robin walking over to the yellow-cloaked form "Is there any way we can find them again?"  
  
Reason thought for a moment.  
  
"Possibly." She announced, "But in this place it won't be so easy. Normally, we would be able to find Raven without much trouble, but Rook's mind is full of energy – it's disrupting our mental link to Raven. If she gets too far away, we might even cease to exist in this place. If that happens, you will be on your own..."  
  
This didn't go down too well with the others.  
  
"What?!" screeched Cyborg "You mean to tell us that we might be left here on our own, with no way to get back?!" The purple-cloaked Stubborn nodded.  
  
"That's the risk you took. We did warn you." She said, bluntly.  
  
"Well this is no time for arguing." Said Robin, standing between Cyborg and the Emotion. "We need to find Raven, and fast. DO any of you have any idea of where she could have gone?"  
  
As one, the emotions pointed to the left of the titans.  
  
"Ok then," said Robin, "Titans, let's go!"  
  
They turned and walked off into the mist. After a few seconds, Cyborg ran back and picked up Laziness, who still hadn't got up. "Do we have to?" she yawned tiredly.  
  
After many long minutes, Valour slowed down somewhat. Catching up to him, Raven grabbed his cloak and pinned him against a twisted, black tree. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?" she asked. The emotion shrugged.  
  
"Outsiders must not know. You can, but they must not. You know how particular we are about that. I shall tell you now, if you would be kind enough to release me."  
  
Raven let go of Valour, and he dusted his cloak off. He took a deep breath.  
  
"When Trigon came to Rook's mind, he had already been inside yours and the others'. He knew what to expect, and he knew that he could be defeated if Rook managed to unite with all of his emotions. He also knew that Rook's mental defences were very strong, perhaps the strongest of all his family." The emotion showed a hint of pride at this point. Raven just scowled. "Trigon knew that if he just appeared and tried to take over Rook's mind, Rook would unit with his emotions very quickly and stop our father. So he came up with a plan. I am sorry for what I am about to show you Raven, but this is the only way you will understand." Valour waved a hand, and the mists seemed to part.  
  
"I led you here, to show you what he did..."  
  
As the mists parted, Raven saw a large hill emerging from the fog. It was perfectly round, and covered with lank, green grass. The air around the mound almost seemed to freeze, it was that cold. Howling wind blew over the landmark, and Raven could just make out shapes on the top.  
  
"Follow." Stated Valour, making his way towards the hill. Pulling her cloak around her to keep warm, Raven walked after the emotion. The damp grass waved around her feet as she made her way to the top of the hill. When she got there, her blood ran cold.  
  
Gravestones. Seven gravestones, each with a single word written in the centre.  
  
"Happiness, Bravery, Timid, Laziness, Jealousy, Anger and Stubbornness." Read Valour. "Rook could not unite with his emotions, because Trigon killed them." Raven looked down at the graves, each an indication of what Trigon was prepared to do to achieve his whims.  
  
"He killed them, and then crushed Rook..." she muttered to herself.  
  
"Yes," said Valour, "and when each emotion was killed, to compensate one of Rook's lesser emotions gained a more physical form. That is why I am here; I am all that is left of Rook's Bravery."  
  
"I am sorry..." whispered Raven.  
  
"Whatever for Raven?" asked Valour, "It is not your fault this happened. I understand that you didn't trust me, because I wouldn't have trusted you if you had had emotions like me."  
  
Raven looked down.  
  
"Now come," said the emotion, "Rook is not far away. I only hope that your friends will find one of the others before the Nightmares find them..."  
  
Raven's head snapped up. "Nightmares?!" she shouted, "There are Nightmares here?"  
  
This time it was Valour's turn to look down. "Yes, they started appearing after Trigon took over... I didn't want to mention it before, it would put you at ill ease..."  
  
"Of course it would!" snapped the psychic, "And for good reason! We have to find them now!"  
  
Valour grabbed her arm. "We won't be able to find them – I cannot sense them any more and neither can you, I know it. All we can do now is find Rook. He will know what to do."  
  
Reluctantly, she turned away from where she came from and followed Valour down the other side of the hill, its ghostly form slowly sinking away into the mist.  
  
Beastboy looked up at the form of Cyborg. They had been travelling for what felt like hours. Cyborg looked as bored and tired as he was. The place just didn't change; fog and more fog.  
  
"How big is this place?" he asked to the world in general. After a few minutes of eerie silence, Reason answered.  
  
"It is only as big as Rook feels it to be." she said. "Depending on how Rook feels, this space grows and shrinks. Nothing is constant here."  
  
"Great," muttered Beastboy. "We could be here for hours, even days looking for something new... hey, haven't we passed that rock already?"  
  
A moment of grim realisation descended onto the group. They looked at each other for a few moments, and then carried on walking. The place was starting to take its toll on the morale of the Titans. They all dragged their feet slightly as they walked, except for Starfire who had taken to hovering just above the floor to give her feet a rest.  
  
Presently, they passed a low, very darkly coloured rock. A feeling of unease passed through the group. Their pace slowed, and eventually they all stopped.  
  
"Something is wrong here..." whispered Timid, pulling up her hood. Bravery looked up suddenly. A long, drawn out screech sounded in the distance, accompanied by the flapping of wings.  
  
"No... not now..." she uttered. She turned quickly to the others. "We have to go, NOW!" she ordered, running in the opposite direction of the noise, which sounded disturbingly close now. The Titans struggled to keep up with the emotions; they were fast runners.  
  
"What's... going... on...?" panted Robin, who had managed to draw close to a Brown-robed emotion. She looked at him spitefully. "Why would you need me to work that out? I thought you could always work it out." This Raven was nudged to the side by Reason. "Don't take any notice of Jealousy," she said, "I'm not sure, but I think we are being followed by Nightmares. You have seen what they do before, when you watched that movie." The screech grew louder.  
  
"We will never be able to outrun it!" exclaimed Starfire.  
  
Robin stopped, followed shortly by the others.  
  
"Then we'll fight." He said.  
  
The mists parted... 


	10. Nightmares

[Wow, thanks for the reviews on part 9 – I thought id lost the train of thought when I sat back down to the keyboard after so long ^^ Anywho, onto part 10! Hopefully this will conclude reasonably quickly – I already have plans for the sequel that I really wanna get started on :P]  
  
"Get ready Titans, here it comes..." whispered Robin, as the shape broke through the mist. The Titans readied themselves, Cyborg activating his Ion Cannon and Beastboy morphing into a lion. Starfire rose higher into the cold air, charging up her starbolts.  
  
The black shape burst through the fog. It plopped to the ground. It was about the size of a small cat, although in reality it looked more like a strange cross between a furry toad and a chicken. It croaked uncertainly.  
  
The Titans were immediately washed with a sense of confusion. They started to laugh about the event immediately. All except Starfire that is, who screamed.  
  
"We must run!" she wailed, "This is a foe we cannot defeat!"  
  
The other Titans looked at her in a puzzled way. Then Cyborg grinned.  
  
"Ooooh, Star's afraid of the big nasty bird-frog" he brayed, going closer to the strange beast. "Yeah Star," agreed Beastboy, "It's so small... and so cute! How could it possibly be danger-"he was cut off by a yelp of surprise from Cyborg.  
  
"H-hey!" he shouted, "It's got my arm!"  
  
Sure enough, the creature had taken a big bite into Cyborg's right arm and even now was starting to grow and swell. The large pink eyes on its head suddenly split into two sets, which glowed deep red. The assembled emotions gasped.  
  
"It's a Nightmare!" cried Timid.  
  
"Whose Nightmare is it though?" asked Reason.  
  
Starfire slowly raised her hand. "It's a Glorbian Blortax" she ventured, as Cyborg struggled with the beast, which was growing ever larger by the second. They trick things into coming close, and then eat them. They eat anything. They even eat my home made Glorg..."  
  
Robin and Beastboy recoiled. They knew all about Starfire's home-made Glorg...  
  
"Um... a little help here? IM ABOUT TO BECOME GLORG!" shouted Cyborg, struggling with the creature, which was now about twice the size of the android and still growing. The others snapped their attention back to him.  
  
"Titans, go!" shouted Robin.  
  
Bounding towards the Blortax, Beastboy roared as he leapt into the air, his teeth bared. No sooner had he latched onto the creature than a long black tentacle oozed out of the skin of the beast and threw Beastboy to the floor heavily. Returning to his human shape, he said "How weird is this thing?" Robin ran to the side of the creature, dodging its now many tentacles, and threw exploding disks at the creature, though it didn't affect it in the slightest. Starfire was rooted to the spot in terror. As both Robin and Beastboy tried in vain to stop the now monstrous creature, Reason had an idea.  
  
"I think I know what's wrong!" she yelled to the Titans. Then she hit Starfire very hard on the back of the head.  
  
Raven and Valour walked side by side through the nightmare world. The air seemed to be condensing into very fine rain, and every so often a far off screech or howl could be heard drifting through the mist. Valour turned to Raven.  
  
"The Nightmares have sensed the presence of you and your friends." He said. "Do not worry – as long as I am here, they will not attack you. All I can hope is that one of the others will find them first..."  
  
Raven looked at the emotion thoughtfully. "What are the others? What emotions are left?"  
  
Valour considered this for a moment, then said, "To be honest, even I haven't seen some of them. To my knowledge, the emotions left are me, Retribution, Fear, Mischievousness and Curiosity. To be honest, I don't know if Trigon has managed to find any of them either. Only Rook himself knows that."  
  
They continued walking in silence. Suddenly, a huge tremor threw Raven to her knees.  
  
"We are close." said the emotion.  
  
Starfire opened her eyes slowly, and looked up into the faces of her friends and the assorted collection of Ravens.  
  
"What happened?" she groaned slowly.  
  
"Reason knocked you out" said Robin, holding out his hand to help her up. "When she did, the Blortax disappeared."  
  
"That is correct." confirmed the emotion. "The Nightmare was using your thoughts to create the image of the beast. When I knocked you out, it could no longer draw upon that image and so it vanished. Nightmares are fast learners though, and no doubt it will not be so easy next time."  
  
"So... what exactly are Nightmares?" asked Robin.  
  
The assembled Ravens shuffled uneasily. Eventually, Timid was the one who spoke up.  
  
"They are kind of like guardians..." she ventured. "Like when someone comes into a mind, it's the Nightmares who stop them from getting any further. They don't know good from evil, they just exist to get external presences out from our minds. And to do that, they look into your mind and copy your deepest, darkest fears..."  
  
Another screech sounded in the distance.  
  
"We'd better go." said Robin, taking charge as he always did in these situations. "Which way is it to Raven?"  
  
The emotions pointed. In different directions.  
  
"We're gonna be here a loooong time..." sighed Cyborg.  
  
The tremors were getting more and more violent. Both Valour and Raven were floating to save time.  
  
"What is causing these tremors?" asked the psychic.  
  
"It is Rook," explained Valour, "He is fighting Trigon as we speak. But he knows he can't beat him with direct force, he would need to unite with his emotions to do that. He is trying to reshape his mind too quickly for Trigon to keep up with."  
  
"But that could be dangerous!" Raven exclaimed. "You know what might happen if he reshapes his mind too quickly. All of his emotions could-"  
  
She paused.  
  
"Exactly. He has nothing to lose..."  
  
They pair headed deeper into the mist, following the ripples in the shaking ground, passing now floating trees and rocks.  
  
The Titans wandered through the mist, with absolutely no idea where they were going. In the end, they had to follow the directions of Jealousy, mainly because she was pointing away from where the screeching was coming from. Now the screeching seemed to be coming from every direction.  
  
"By the sound of it, we're surrounded." said Beastboy, changing back to human form from hare form. "There's no way out. We're doomed! DOOMED!"  
  
"Calm down." said Robin. "As long as we have the Ravens with us, there shouldn't be much problem. They don't seem to attract the Nightmares."  
  
"Um..." said Cyborg uncertainly, "weren't there nine of them before?"  
  
The Titans looked around and counted.  
  
"Where is the red-cloaked Raven?" asked Starfire. "I am sure she was around a while ago..."  
  
"Oh no..."  
  
"Anger must have escaped while we were fighting the Nightmare." said Bravery.  
  
The screeching grew louder.  
  
"That's the least of our troubles." said Robin. "More Nightmares!"  
  
The Titans and emotions formed a protective circle, and awaited the arrival of the Nightmares.  
  
Deep in the mist, Anger ran. She had to find Trigon... then she would get her revenge on all the others... everyone... 


	11. Rook

[Right. After a couple of system errors with the college's network, I decided to retrieve all my writing and bring it home for a change. Sorry for the delay]  
  
Surrounded, the Titans feared the worst. Starfire wailed.  
  
"Oh, what could possibly be worse than the Blortax?" she sobbed, pathetically.  
  
"It won't be a Blortax," said Reason, laying her hand on Starfire's shoulder. "They have already seen that your Nightmare didn't work. It will be the others' if there are any at all..."  
  
The other Titans gulped, as the screeching grew louder. A shape moved around them at blinding speed, its dark form barely visible in the dense fog. It had two pairs of glowing, red eyes.  
  
"What is that?!" screeched Beastboy, pointing at where the shape was. The others turned to look.  
  
"Where's what?" asked Cyborg, after a moment of staring at nothing but fog.  
  
It's here  
  
The rasping, low sound drifted out of the fog, chilling all the Titans to the bone. The screeching and chittering sounds of the Nightmares seemed to stop for a moment, and then could be heard to be getting further away.  
  
"They're afraid of us?" asked Robin to the world in general. The entire group formed a tight protective circle; something was wrong.  
  
No. They are afraid of me...  
  
Wraith descended from the mist onto the Titans, his red eyes blaring with bright light.  
  
They were getting close now. Raven could sense her brother nearby. Sure enough, Valour looked down at her.  
  
"We are here." He said. The fog parted, revealing a direct pathway to a large rocky outcrop. Raven started to head down the ghostly tunnel, but stopped as she realised Valour was not by her side like he had been for the journey – time did not work in the right way here. The journey could have taken five minutes, or 5 months, she was not sure.  
  
"Aren't you coming?" she asked the emotion, turning around.  
  
He was gone.  
  
Shrugging, she turned and headed down the pathway that had formed in the mist.  
  
"Titans, move!" shouted Robin, flipping out of the way of the shadowy figure. He was not quite fast enough however, and a blow from an arm that looked like nothing more than shadow propelled him full force into a gnarled tree. The other Titans did not fare much better – Cyborg was enveloped in the darkness, only to appear moments later unconscious on the ground. Starfire fired starbolt after starbolt at the creature, but the energy pulses merely sank into the shadowy skin, to be returned moments later as dark balls of flame. Wraith regarded the fallen Titans, and turned to Beastboy.  
  
"That leaves you..." rasped the figure. He reached down to grab the changeling, but was stopped by a sudden blast of energy, which seemed to be coming from several directions at once. Beastboy looked up with a strange mix of fear and curiosity in his eyes.  
  
The emotions of Raven had formed a large circle around Wraith and were each firing a beam of white energy into the apparition. Wraith bellowed with rage and pain.  
  
"Get... them... off... me" gasped Wraith, sinking to whatever could be called his knees. Bravery lowered herself to the ground and stepped forwards, extending her hand towards Wraith.  
  
"You don't scare us." she said. "We know you aren't really what you say you are, are you? You are just like us. An emotion..."  
  
Wraith hung his head, and the fires in his eyes seemed to die down.  
  
"Yes." He said. "I am Rook's desire for revenge. Once Trigon entered his mind, I was manifested whenever Rook had to fight his father. Wraith was the name I took, although it is not my real title."  
  
As the Titans recovered, Reason also descended towards Rook.  
  
"What is your real name?" she asked.  
  
"Retribution." said the emotion. "Rook sent me to find you all once he knew you were in here. I tried to find you, but Trigon has almost taken over. He can control all of Rook's emotions easily now. It is only a matter of time until he can control all of you, too."  
  
The group were silent for long seconds, maybe minutes. Retribution turned away from them.  
  
"Come." he said. "I must take you to Rook. It is not far."  
  
He slid away into the mist. The Titans looked at each other, and duly followed.  
  
Raven reached the end of the tunnel, and the mist completely opened up.  
  
The outcrop was huge, a single massive spire of rock which rose from the ground. There was no mist around it at all – the mist almost refused to come near. There was a giant oval of clear ground which gave the place an ethereal, unreal feel. Of course it was unreal, thought Raven. This was her brother's mind! At the top of the rock formation, a figure was sat, cross- legged and floating in mid air, his cloak draped to the ground behind him.  
  
Rook.  
  
Raven floated forwards and up, to reach the top of the mountain. As she did so, she felt a surge of energy coming from her brother. As she reached him, he opened his eyes.  
  
"Hello, sister." he said quietly. It was possibly the single most out of place thing he could have said, given the situation.  
  
Raven remained focused on her reason for being in Rook's mind. "You said you needed my help." she replied.  
  
Rook lowered his feet to the ground. "I trust you were told of the situation by Retribution?" Raven shook her head. "Valour found us first."  
  
Rook's eyes widened. "Valour?" he said quickly, "But I don't have Valour any more... he was killed a few weeks ago..."  
  
They thought for a moment. "Father!" they said simultaneously. Rook turned to face his sister for the first time. "This is bad. How many of your emotions did you bring with you?"  
  
"All of them."  
  
"Even Anger?"  
  
She nodded. Rook sighed. This was not going to plan. "Where are they now?" he asked. Raven looked at the ground.  
  
"I left them behind when I followed Valour. But they are safe." she added hurriedly when she saw the look on her brother's face. "The Titans are with them."  
  
"Yes, I felt them enter my mind a while ago." He paused. "Why did you let them come with you? Surely, you know it is too dangerous in my mind for untrained people..."  
  
"They insisted," she said. "Besides, they're my friends, and whatever you think they are very good at what they do."  
  
Rook raised an eyebrow.  
  
"And what, exactly, 'do they do'?" he asked.  
  
"They save people." she said, simply. The ground underneath them rumbled.  
  
"Regardless, we need to get them out of this place." said Rook. "It is becoming extremely unstable. I do not want them to have to face our father – they have no chance against him as it is."  
  
He noted Raven's expression.  
  
"Ok, so we don't have a chance either, but at least we know what to expect."  
  
Raven snapped back to the task at hand. "So, what could I possibly do to help?"  
  
Rook's features seemed to become darker inside his hood.  
  
"Well, as you probably know, I am somewhat... deficient of emotions at the moment, so I cannot unite with them to force father out of my mind directly. However, with enough support, I could perform the Rite of Sealing, which would banish him. For this though, I'd need a lot of people working together. That is why I needed you and your emotions – all of you together would probably just be able to accumulate the power I would need for the rite. However, only just enough and it still may not be enough. It is, however, my last chance I believe. I shall call my remaining emotions to me, and maybe if your friends have been lucky enough to find one of them they will be led here where it is safe. Other than that, I cannot promise anything."  
  
Raven looked out into the fog, wondering what would become of her emotions and friends.  
  
Valour stalked through the mist. All was going to plan. Soon, the threat of the girl would be duly vanquished, by her own hand no less. For that was what would happen. The list of Rook's enemies in his own mind was steadily growing. The emotion's eyes glowed red.  
  
What fools they all were...  
  
Valour looked out into the fog, and extended his psychic influence. He could sense everything from this spot; the Nightmare herds galloping through the barren wastelands, Retribution doing his 'duty' and escorting those fools to Rook, and... yes... her. That was who he was looking for. She was heading this way.  
  
He could here the heavy breathing of Anger as she ran through the mist and almost straight into his armoured form. She pulled up just short, and they looked each other in the eye.  
  
"Our father is waiting for you." said Valour. 


End file.
